Many configurations of sealing assemblies are known for providing a fluid and pressure seal between a generally transparent member forming an optical window and a supporting structure. One example of a device including such a sealing assembly is in a pressure-volume-temperature optical analysis chamber (PVT chamber), wherein one or more wavelengths of light may be directed to intersect a column of fluid under either static or dynamic conditions, in order to evaluate one or more properties of that fluid.
Some environments are particularly challenging for sealing assemblies, particularly those environments requiring operation at temperatures greater than 200 degrees Fahrenheit (F) or at pressures greater than approximately 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi). In the oil and gas industry, for example, it is often necessary or desirable to have sealing assemblies that can operate at temperatures and pressures encountered in a downhole environment, wherein the temperatures may be above 300 degrees F., and sometimes above 400 degrees F.; and wherein the pressures may be in excess of 15,000 psi, and sometimes above 20,000 psi. Even in assemblies that are not intended to be located in a downhole environment, there is often the need to simulate downhole conditions in a laboratory, and thus the sealing assemblies should be operable at the temperatures and/or pressures encountered in the subsurface environment.